The New York Jets have had to face talented wide receivers through the first two weeks, and both No. 1 wideouts they’ve faced have produced stellar outings. Despite the success the opposing receivers have had thus far, Jeff Ulbrich doesn’t believe the Jets will make a schematical change to allow Sauce Gardner to shadow the opposing team’s No. 1 receiver.
Jeff Ulbrich on the idea of Sauce Gardner traveling with a WR (a la CeeDee Lamb): "It's not the nature of our defense… is it something we can do in the future? Who knows. But as of today, it's just not what we do. And we've had a lot of success doing what we do." #Jets
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) September 21, 2023
To kick off the 2023 season, Stefon Diggs hauled in 10 of his 13 targets for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Jets. Some of those receptions came with Gardner in coverage on the veteran pass catcher, but the second-year cornerback wasn’t asked to shadow Diggs throughout the game.
After allowing Diggs to eclipse 100 yards and a score, CeeDee Lamb tallied 11 receptions for 143 yards on 13 targets against the Jets in Week 2. Lamb roamed freely out of the slot for the majority of last week’s contest and rarely saw Gardner in coverage despite the Dallas Cowboys not having veteran Brandin Cooks available.
Gardner is certainly one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and teams around the league determine whether or not their best cornerback travels with the No. 1 receiver depending on their scheme. Over the next few weeks, the Jets won’t have to worry about facing a true No. 1 wide receiver.
But when the Jets take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6, it’ll be interesting to see if Ulbrich changes his tune on Gardner shadowing receivers when the team has to gameplan for A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.